Railway-switch.



J. W. HUBBARD.

RAILWAY SWITCH. APPLIGATION FILED ooT.3o,1912.

Patented J an. 20, 1914.

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J. W. HUBBARD.

RAILWAY SWITCH.

APPLICATION FILED ocT. so, 1912.

Patented J an. 20, 1914.

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WITNESS/5S ATTORNEYS CQLUMEM PLANCGRAPH CIL.WASNINQTQN.12vA c.

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JAMES VJARREN HUBBARD, OF EAU CLAIRE, WISCONSIN.

RAILWAY-SWITCH.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES W. Homann, a citizen of the United States, anda resident of Eau Claire, in the county of Eau Claire and State oflVisconsin, have invented a new and Improved Railway- Switch, of whichthe following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to locking devices for railway switches, andcomprises certain improvements upon apparatus of this sort described andclaimed in my application for a patent on a railway switch, SerialNumber 660,257, filed November 14, 1911.

The object of t-he invention described and claimed in this applicationis to provide a construction of locking device for railway switcheswhich will operate more readily and advantageously than the apparatusset forth in my co-pending application above referred to, and to thisend I provide my improvements with suitable anti-frictional braces toengage the side of a draw bar and afford the desired results.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part ofthis specification, in which the same characters of reference indicatethe same parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a top plan of a switch locking mechanism of my improvedtype; Fig. 2 is a sectional view on the line 2-2 of Fig. l; Fig. 3 is atop plan of a modification; and Fig. 4 is a sectional view on the line4-4 of Fig. 3.

On the drawings, 1 represents a section of one of the main rails at apoint where the switch is to be made, this switch comprising a switchpoint shown at 4. The rail, part of which is indicated at 1, will be astraight rail, and the other rail will turn out and form part of thesiding while the other switch point will form part of the other rail,which will be laid parallel with the rail 1 to continue the line beyondthe switch, the switch point shown at 4 leading to the other track ofthe siding, as will be readily understood.

The switch points will be operated by means of a draw bar 5, which willbe reciprocated to throw the switch points in either direction to openor close the switch, as occasion requires, and it will be locked ineither relation by means of a locking bar 3 mounted upon links 9 anddisposed along the rail 1. Normally, this locking bar S will have itsupper edge projecting above Specication of Letters Patent.

Application filed October 30, 1912.

Patented J an. 20, 1914.

Serial No. 728,669.

the rail, and the rail and switch points will be supported by the tiesor sleepers 7 in the usual way. Preferably, the lower ends of the links9 will be secured by pivot bolts and lugs to the sides of the sleepers7, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

The bar 6 is locked in position to hold the switch open or closed bymeans of a lever 13 which is pivotally mounted at one end by means of asuitable bolt 14, and connected intermediate its length to the bar 6 bymeans of a pivoted link 12. The inner end of the lever 13 is joined by alink 15 to the lock bar 8, and it will be seen that in the positionshown in Fig. l, the switch will be closed, and whenever a train ispassing, the wheels thereof will bear down upon the bar 3, exerting apull upon the bar 15 to draw the free end of the lever 13 to the right.This movement will push upon the link 12 and bar 6 and prevent theswitch points from moving while a train is passing.

In order to facilitate the mounting of the above-mentioned parts Iemploy a base plate 31, over which the bar 6 passes, and to which thelever 13 is secured. This plate rests upon a pair or adjacent sleepers 7outside of the tracks, and the sleepers 7 may be extended fo-r thispurpose. The link 15 may be made in two parts if desired, and joined bya suitable turn-buckle 32.

For the purpose of bracing the draw bar 6 against the lateral component.of the thrust exertedv by the link 12, I provide a stud 33 upon theplate 31 and mount on this stud an anti-friction roller 34, this rollerbeing freely rotatable upon the stud. The outer end of the stud also haspivotally secured thereto an arm 35 having a. notched end 36, thisnotched end being engaged by a stud 37. The bar 6, the arm 35 and roller34 move independently ofl each other, and Jdie notch 36 in the end ofthe arm 35, which allows some play to the stud or projection 37, willprevent any binding when the drawbar is reciprocated. This arm 35 alsoacts as a sort of catch to keep the bar 6 in the plane of the roller 34,and prevent disengagement of the parts.

l/Vhen the bar 6 is moved in either direction it will slide on theroller 34 and carry the member 35 with it around the pivot 33. Anymovement of the draw bar will of course be attended with a movement tothe left of the parts 12 and 13, and the stud and roller 34 thus act asan anti-frictional brace against which the draw bar abuts.

This brace is also effective when the wheels ol the train engage thedraw bar 8 to lock the switch in open or closed position, and on suchoccasions it will brace the bar G against any lateral component of thethrust exerted by the link 12, as above described.

ln the modification shown in Figs. 3 and 4 l employ a locking bar 8,draw bar 6, connecting link and plate 31, as before, but the plate 31has a slightly different shape. rlhis plate has a channel 33, along theedges of which are disposed ribs 39, and the bar 6 moves between theseribs. To this bar is secured a cover 40, by means of bolts 41 passingthrough the bar and the gear, the heads of these bolts being on thebottom of the bar and entering the groove or channel 38, the sides ofthe bar resting upon the shoulders formed by the ribs 39. The cover ishollow, and has passing therethrough in a direction transverse of thebar, a passage which receives a link 42 pivotally secured to the coverby means of a bolt 43. One end of this link is housed by the cover andcarries r an anti-friction roller 44, and the other end of this link 42projects out of the cover and is pivotally secured to a leverintermediate the ends of the latter. This lever 45 is pivotally securedat its outer end to the plate 31 by a bolt 46a, and corresponds to thelever 13 and is connected at its opposite end to the link 15. Pivotallysecured to the plate 31 is another link 47 having its outer end notched,as shown at 48, this notched end passing into the passage in the cover,the passage being enlarged on the adjacent side to allow this notchedend to pass over the top of the inner end of the link 42. The cover 40also carries a bolt 49 which passes in through the top of the cover andengages the notch in the end of this link 47. The adjacent end of thislink also carries an antiliriction roller which engages the antifrictionroller 44, and directly below this link 47 is an antifriction roller 51,which projects beyond the edge of the adjacent rib 39, and engages theside of the bar 6. The plate 31 has flat top projections 52 in which arel'ormed threaded holes 53, one of these holes receiving the pivot bolt54 of the link 47. rlhis plate is also provided with a pair of guideribs 55, against which the projection on the swinging end of the lever45 rests. The plate 31 is so shaped that the lever 45 can be mounted oneither side of the center,

and the relative position of the links 42 and 47 reversed whennecessary. The link 42 corresponds to the link 12- in the lirst form,and operates in the same way, except that as shown in Figs. 3 and 4member 15 is put under a compression strain to hold the switch locked inposition, and the roller 51 will act as an anti-rictional brace 'for thedraw bar 6, whenever the bar is moved or a force exerted on the lever 45through the link 15, which force will act through the link 42 to lockthe draw bar 6 and the switch in open or closed position. In theposition shown in Fig. 3 itwill be necessary to exert a thrust on thebar 15 to secure this result, and the locking bar 8 ma becorrespondingly mounted. If it is esired, however, that the force on thebar 15 actuating the lever 45 and link 42 be in the shape oit' a pull,it is only necessary to make this bar extend to the left instead of tothe right, as shown in Fig. 3. In such a case I would mount the bar 8and links 9 so as to cause the links 9, when the locking bar 8 ispressed down, to move to the left instead of to the right, so as toexert a tension on the bar or link 15, as desired.

When the switch points are in central position the 'friction rollers 44and 50 will force the case 40 and bar 6 slightly away from the roller51, the object of this being to produce what is termed the j ack knifee'liect, to do away with the dead center'. It will be observed thatafter the switch bar 6 has moved slightly in either direction beyond thecenter, the links 42 and 47 will travel with the bar, and then any forceexerted on the lever 45 through the link 15 will be transmitted throughthe link 42 to effect the locking of the bar 6. Further, the movement ofthe bar 6 will carry the cover 40 with the bar, and through the bolt 49and the notched end of the link 47, move the links 42 and 47 out ofalinement, and allow the bar to come back into contact with the roller51, and be braced thereby against the action of the link 42. lVhen thesetwo links are in alinement, as shown in Fig. 3, the rollers 44 and 50are in engagement, and the roller 50 acts on the link 42, and therethrough on the bar 6 to move the bar 6 sidewise away from the roller 51.

It will be noted from Figs. 3 and 4 that when the links are in alinementand the switch points in central position, any compression exerted onthe link 15 and lever 45 will cause the links to break or move out ofalinement. rhus, after the switch bar 6 travels a slight dist-ance, theroller 51 will come into contact with the switch bar and brace thesaine.

The link 47 takes eilect by causing the bar 6 in the case 40 to moveslightly away from the roller 51 when the switch bar 6 and the switchpoints move to central position. Then, when they are moved out ofcentral position in either direction, the bar 6 pulls the links out ofalinement by breaking joint at their inner ends. Upon any furthermovement the lever 45 will act upon the link 42 as soon as the wheels ofthe train engage the locking bar 8 to lock the switch, and before thishappens the bar 6 will have moved back in contact with the roller 51 andthus be braced and be prevented from being forced sidewisel when theswitch is locked.

It will be seen that the plate 31 on Figs. 3 and 4 is provided with twoapertures to receive the pivot bolt 46 for the lever 45, these aperturesbeing on either side of the ch-annel 38. These two apertures, togetherwith the two apertures 53 and the two guides 55, make it possible tomount the lever 46 on either side of the plate and reverse the relativeposition of the links.

In practice, I prefer to employ levers connected to the bar 6, so thatthey will operate to open the switch, and in this case I use springsconnected to the bar 6 to return the bar and switch points to closedposit-ion. The object is to keep the switch closed to the main line,opening it only when it isdesired to use the same.

I wish to have it understood that the above description is illustrativeonly, and that I do not care to be limited to the exact details shownand described, but reserve to myself the right to make any changes inthe shape, size and arrangement of the parts as fairly fall within t-hescope and spirit of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent:

l. In a switch locking device, the combination of a switch point, a barfor moving the same, means for locking the switch bar at either end ofits movement, and an antifriction device for bracing the switch baragainst the action of the locking means.

2. In a switch locking device, the combination of a switch point, a barconnected thereto, locking means exerting a thrust diagonally of saidbar to hold the same at either end of its movement, and an antifrictiondevice engaging the bar to act as a lateral brace therefor against theaction of said locking means.

3. In a switch locking device, the combination of a switch point, a barconnected to the same, a link connected to said bar, means for causingsaid link to exert a thrust diagonally of the bar, and a friction rollermounted on the side of the bar opposite the link to brace the baragainst the lateral component of said thrust. v

4. In a switch lock, the combination of a switch point, a bar connectedthereto, a link pivot-ally connected to one side of the bar, ananti-friction roller on the opposite side of the bar, an arm pivotallymounted on the same side of the bar as the antifriction roller andhaving a notch in its end, a projection carried by the bar and engagedby the notch, and means for causing the link to exert a thrustdiagonally of the bar to lock the same at either end of its movement,the roller serving as a brace for the bar against lateral displacement,and the link holding the bar in the plane of the roller.

5. In a switch lock, the combination of a switch bar for moving theswitch points, a cover secured to the bar and having a passage leadingtherethrough transversely of the bar, a link pivotally connected to thecover and disposed in said passage, said link having an anti-frictionroller in its outer end, a second link pivotally mounted to one side ofsaid bar and having its end entering the said cover, a roller carried bysaid second link to engage the roller of the first link, means carriedby the cover to engage the end of the second link to move the samearound its pivot, and locking means connected to the first link tosecure the bar at either end of its movement.

6. In a switch locking device, the combination of a switch operatingbar, a cover secured to the same, a link pivotally mounted upon thecover and having a roller at one end, a second pivoted link having oneend notched, means carried by the cover to engage said notched end tomove the second link with the cover, said second link having a rollerengaging the roller of the first link, an anti-friction roller mountedbeside the bar beneath the second link to engage the side of the bar,and locking means for operating the first link, said links causing thebar to swing apart from the anti-friction roller when the links aremoved into alinement.

7. In a switch locking device, the combination of a switch bar, 'alever, a link pivotally connected to the bar and the lever, a base plateto which the lever is pivotally secured, a guide for the lever carriedby the base plate, and means for operating the lever.

8. In a switch locking mechanism, a base plate having channels acrossthe same, ribs on the face thereof parallel with the edges of thechannel and forming shoulders therewith, said plate having a pair ofapertures on either side of the channel adjacent one end of the plate, apair of apertured projections located centrally of said plate on eitherside of the channel, and a. pair of arc-shaped guides, one on each sideof said channel adjacent the opposite end of said plate.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

JAMES WARREN HUBBARD.

fitnesses ARTHUR B. C. DUNNE, Gr. I. HUBBARD.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner oi' Patents. Washington, D. C.

